The first shipment of our new run is now on hand.
This
reproduction blanket is woven by Family Heirloom Weavers in Red Lion,
PA, a weaver with an extensive knowledge of historic textiles. In
addition to weaving the blanket in the United States the yarn for this
blanket was custom dyed and mixed specifically for this blanket to our specifications right here in
the USA. This
cobalt blue 100% wool blanket is woven with a 2/2 twill ( blanket)
weave with proper return (shuttle woven) selvage with linen in the
selvage edge as found in the surviving originals. The surviving originals have olive or
brown stripes. The consensus is that when new these stripes were black.
We choose to reproduce this blanket using a blackish dark brown yarn so
as to represent a black that is beginning to break to brown.
We have personally examined the original in daylight for the purpose of color matching. We
did not simply use a dark museum photograph from a book nor choose to
copy a reproduction for the purpose of shade matching this blanket.
The original blanket is a cobalt blue color rather than a shade as dark
as blue gray kersey, a.k.a. EAC. See comparison photos below.
These blankets measure approximately 66" wide x 77" and weight approximately 3 pounds and 2 ounces.
This
is a great blanket for portraying North Carolina Soldier from Mid-war
to the end of the war. The original blankets were believed to be of
English manufacture and run through the blockade.
A portion of every North Carolina blanket we sell from this run will be donated to The New Bern Historial Society
who cares for the original artifact we studied before beginning this
project. The original blanket is attributed to Henry Clay Whitehurst of
the 67th NC Regiment. His regiment served in North Carolina and was
involved in the Carolina's campaign.
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| Original New Bern Blanket atop a 1980's reproduction | Our reproduction atop the same 1980's reproduction |
Additional
information about North Carolina Blankets can be found in the following
article from the Company of Military Historians
Fred Gaede, "Three NC Blankets," Journal of the Company of Military Historians, vol. 41, no. 3 (Fall 1989).
Unmarked blankets will come with a template, yarn, needle and instructions on how to mark the NC on your blanket.
The letters are worked in stem stitch. Here is an excellent video on how to work the stitch.
Some
blankets were bound after issue. If you choose to bind your blanket
using a blanket stitch you may find this video from Civil War Digital
Digest helpful.
Please allow an additional two weeks processing time if are ordering a blanket with the NC already stitched into your blanket.